Five most disappointing Cardinals seasons since 1961

The 2023 St. Louis Cardinals' season has been extremely tough to watch. The team isn't playing well at all, big-name players were shipped off at the deadline, the players who are left seem to be rotating through the Injured List, and managerial/front-office mismanagement has been frustrating, to say the least.

From the Tyler O'Neill situation to Willson Contreras's benching to a record consistently below .500, fans are starting to feel like this may be the worst season in St. Louis history, let alone franchise history. The stadium is getting more and more empty with each home series, and the reasons to watch and root for the team are dwindling by the day.

For as abysmal as this season is, the team has had worse seasons before. The franchise dates back to 1882 when the St. Louis Brown Stockings played in the American League. The Brown Stockings were eventually shortened to just the Browns from 1883-1898, followed by the Perfectos for one year. In 1900, the team received the name "Cardinals" and found a home in the National League. For 123 years, the franchise name has remained the same outside of some divisional realignment.

Due to this long history, it is feasible to assume that there have been seasons as bad or worse as 2023. In order to make this exercise relevant, only seasons since the Integration Era (ended in 1961) will be evaluated. From this point on, the color barrier was officially broken and the game could include the best of the best players from across the world.

Let's take a look at the five most disappointing seasons in Cardinals' history since 1961.

1978 Season

Going by strictly win-loss percentage, the 1978 season is the worst season in franchise history since 1961. That year, the team went 69-93, finished 5th in the division (the Mets finished last), and were 21 games behind the Phillies for first place. The team finished nearly .040 points behind its Pythagorean win-loss (record based on run differential) and had one of the lowest attendance rates of the decade (1,278,215 attendees).

The season did not start off well, as the team fired its manager, Vern Rapp, after only 28 games. He had a 7-11 record. Jack Krol was the interim manager for only two games, and Ken Boyer finished the season as manager, going 61-81 and finishing the season. Another lowlight from the season would be Tom Seaver's no-hitter against the Cardinals on June 16th. Perhaps the worst aspect of the season would be its individual performances. Only one player in the entire team was recognized with an award: Keith Hernandez won a Gold Glove. No other players received an award of any kind that year.

The Cardinals ranked 21st in the majors in batting average, grounded into the 8th most double plays, and had the 24th-worst OPS+ that year. The league had only 26 teams at this time. On the pitching side, the team was about average in all major categories: 17th in ERA+, 12th in ERA, 23rd in home runs allowed, and 5th in strikeouts.

Teams such as the Cubs (3-15 against), Giants (3-9 against), and Padres (3-9 against) all had the Cardinals' number that particular year. Despite big-name players such as Lou Brock, Keith Hernandez, Ted Simmons, Gary Templeton, and Bob Forsch, the 1978 Cardinals played terribly. This season presented the worst win-loss percentage since 1894, and the team struggled to make it back to the postseason for a few more years.

2004 Season

You might be asking yourself: "Didn't the Cardinals make it to the World Series in 2004?" The answer to that question would be, undoubtedly, yes. They did indeed make it to the World Series in 2004. This season is disappointing due to the fact that they lost that World Series to the Boston Red Sox. To make matters worse, they got swept by Boston in the 2004 World Series.

The 2004 Cardinals won a franchise-record 105 games in the regular season, beat the Dodgers in 4 games in the NLDS, and got past a brutal Houston Astros team in the NLCS. This 2004 team featured players such as Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds, and Edgar Renteria on the offensive side to go along with pitchers such as Chris Carpenter, Matt Morris, Jeff Suppan, and Jason Isringhausen. The Cardinals were frequently touted as one of, if not, the best teams in baseball this year.

St. Louis' offense ranked top-5 in all of baseball in OPS+, batting average, and stolen bases. They were in the top 7 in home runs, RBIs, hits, and runs per game. Their pitching staff had the second-best ERA, the fifth-best ERA+, and the best WHIP, and were top-10 in FIP as well. Altogether, the Cardinals were one of the best teams statistically and the best team based on record that year in baseball.

The Cardinals also flew through the playoffs with relative ease. They took out the Dodgers in 4 games and battled against the Houston Astros in the NLCS. The home team won each game in the NLCS, but the Cardinals managed to overpower the Astros with a strong offensive performance, scoring at least 5 runs in 5 of the 7 games.

This season is disappointing due to its conclusion. The Cardinals were clearly favored over the Boston Red Sox, who had to come back from a 3-0 deficit in the ALCS and who made it into the playoffs by virtue of being a Wild Card team. The Cardinals, meanwhile, were touted all year as one of the best teams in baseball.

Despite these facts, the Red Sox swept the Cardinals, quite handily. Game 1 featured plenty of offense; the Red Sox won 11-9 at Fenway. Game 2 was a bit more of a blowout, as the Red Sox won 6-2. After the first game, the Cardinals' offense dwindled, scoring only 1 run in game 3 and getting shut out in game 4. For as impressive as the regular season was, the 2004 season can be considered a disappointment due to its quick and brutal ending in the World Series.

2023 Season

Slowly but surely, the 2023 Cardinals are sneaking up on the 1990 Cardinals and 1978 Cardinals for the worst winning percentage in franchise history since 1978. The 2023 season has been abysmal to watch. It started off rough with player disputes, nagging injuries, and underperformance from the pitching staff and defense. While the offense has been as stout as ever, it hasn't been enough to make up for the holes in the other facets of the game.

Once-MVP players such as Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado aren't themselves this year. Goldschmidt's OPS+ is 20 points below his career average, and the advanced defensive metrics are not fond of Arenado this year. Furthermore, the much-maligned pitching staff from the offseason has performed about as poorly as expected. Currently, players who were figured to be the 8-10 starters are now slotted in at the 3-5 spots in the rotation. Adam Wainwright has not been himself, and it has been sad to see him go out like this.

The team has a 55-72 record this year, and they are projected to finish 15-20 games below their preseason projections. It is fully plausible that the Cardinals finish with less than 70 wins this year, as their current record has them on pace to win exactly 70 games.

From a statistical standpoint, the Cardinals are in the top 5 in OPS+, OPS, and on-base percentage. They find themselves in the top 8 in slugging percentage, batting average, and home runs. Offensively, the team has been a top-7 team in baseball. The issue, however, is in the team's ability to score runs and prevent them. The Cardinals are 14th in total runs scored, 24th in ERA, 26th in ERA+, 27th in WHIP, and have given up the 25th most runs in all of baseball.

The 2023 season has been a disappointment due to inconsistent performances, falling short of expectations, and mismanagement from the front office and field manager. It has been a tough season to watch and will go down in the books as one of the worst seasons in franchise history.

1990 Season

The 1990 season was one of transition for the franchise. The great teams of the 1980s were gone, and the mashers of the late 90s and early 2000s hadn't yet arrived. The Cardinals had many recognizable players still; Ozzie Smith won a Gold Glove at short, and Willie McGee won the batting title. Vince Coleman was stealing bases at a record-setting rate, and Ray Lankford was an up-and-coming prospect with promise. Aside from Ray Lankford, the roster was aging and on the wrong side of 30.

The 1990 Cardinals were the first team to finish last in the division since the 1918 season. The Cardinals haven't finished last in the division since 1990 (although this year may reset that track record). Also, the Cardinals finished 25 games behind the first-place Pittsburgh Pirates.

As with the 2023 season, the 1990 season struggled with finding good pitchers. Their staff as a whole ranked 20th in ERA+, 18th in ERA, and 20th in WHIP. Their FIP and HR/9 placed them in the top 3 in the league, however. In addition to below-average pitching, their offense also staggered throughout the year. The team's offense ranked 28th in OPS+, 22nd in batting average, 27th in OPS, and 29th in wins probability added. Ironically, the Yankees also found themselves at the bottom of the charts in most statistics that year.

After making it to the World Series three times in the 1980's the 1990 season started a run of poor seasons for the Cardinals. The team wouldn't make the playoffs again until 1996. Throughout the first half of the 1990's the team floated around a .500 win percentage. The 1990 season kicked off a series of underperforming teams.